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PGA officials have slimmed down pricey hospitality plans and will be using a 90-day business and ticket blitz for the renowned PGA Championship in an effort to drive sales.

Mark Kass

In 2004, many Milwaukee-area businesses were lining up to pay big bucks to be part of the PGA Championship at the prestigious golf Whistling Straits Golf Course in Kohler, which is owned and operated by Kohler Co.

What a difference six years makes for the Professional Golfers’ Association of America and Whistling Straits.

This year, with southeast Wisconsin businesses just starting to see a slight uptick after the worst economic downturn in decades, PGA officials have slimmed down pricey hospitality plans and will be using a 90-day business and ticket blitz for the renowned PGA event, which will be held Aug. 9-15.

The event draws most of the top golfers in the world, including Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson and Steve Stricker.

“There is no doubt it has been a tougher environment, but we have learned to be more flexible,” said Barry Deach, the PGA’s championship director. “We are confident that we can attract the businesses and the fans to make this a very successful event.”

Joe Steranka, CEO of the PGA of America, said it has been tough for any major sporting event to draw fans and sponsors, given the current economic environment.

“People are a little more discerning about where they are going to spend their money these days,” he said. “But it is still a big draw when you have an opportunity to see a major championship and all the greatest players in the world in your backyard.”

Steranka said the PGA adjusted all of its hospitality and sponsorship packages to reflect the reduced spending by businesses.

“A shift to smaller and more economical venues has been a common theme the past 18 months,” he said. “The PGA understands certain industries are still recovering and the PGA wants to ensure our hospitality products are in concert with their entertainment needs.”

For the first time at Whistling Straits, viewing suites will be constructed adjacent to several greens. Tickets to the shaded, open-air venues will cost $200 per day for practice rounds and $400 per day for the tournament. For this year’s event, three corporate viewing suites are being built on the course near the sixth, eighth and 16th holes, along with the addition of a number of corporate chalets along the ninth-hole fairway. The suites were used for the first time at PGA events in 2009.

Reserved grandstand seating also is being added on the 18th hole to allow golf fans to get a seat to watch the final hole of each day. Those tickets will cost $150 for practice rounds, $200 for Thursday and Friday, and $300 for Saturday and Sunday.

The prices for corporate hospitality range from $37,500 for a 12-person table in the Champions Club near the golf course for the four days of the tournament, to $140,000 for a 50-person chalet near the course, to $300,000 for a 150-person suite positioned between the ninth and 18th holes on the course.

One of the big changes for this year’s tournament is getting people closer to the action. For the 2004 event, all of the corporate hospitality suites were away from the course in a village set up on an adjoining site, which included a shopping area and band stage. While there were televisions in each viewing area, fans had to walk quite a ways to actually see the golf.

Deach said the PGA will still have a tournament village, with several major sponsors locating tents, including American Express, RB of Canada and Mercedes-Benz. Other events, such as concerts, are planned and will be announced closer to the event, he said.

Deach and his staff have been aggressively pushing the corporate hospitality and ticket sales in recent weeks. PGA officials recently attended the national BioTechnology Industry Organization event in Chicago to push the tournament to businesses as part of the state of Wisconsin’s booth.

While PGA officials decline to identify businesses that have signed on for hospitality, Deach said they are on target for their sponsorship goals, but also need a big push in the remaining weeks. According to The SportsBusiness Journal, the 2004 event did $11 million in hospitality revenue on sales of 45 chalets, priced between $115,000 and $275,000, and 90 hospitality tables at $24,000 each.

Many businesses have been reluctant to talk about any possible involvement in the PGA event. In fact, Kohler officials said some businesses that agreed to be part of the event specifically asked not to be listed as a sponsor or participant.

“The market has become very last minute,” Deach said. “We have a lot of work to do, but we are having success because this is such a prestigious event.”

Tough sell

The expensive corporate hospitality has been a tough sell so far for many Milwaukee-area businesses, especially banks and other financial services firms, which are hesitant to spend big on a sporting event in the current economy. Several firms which were involved in the 2004 event said they have taken a pass this year.

“We have realigned our support for the community to reflect our status as a not-for-profit organization to focus in large part on health and wellness related initiatives throughout eastern Wisconsin,” said Michael Brophy, a spokesman for Aurora Health Care, the largest health care system in the state.

M&I Marshall & Ilsley Bank also chose not to purchase a chalet after being involved in the 2004 event, said bank spokeswoman Patty Cadorin.

A Milwaukee manufacturing executive said there was no way he could justify spending thousands of dollars on a golf tournament when his company has laid off employees.

“It just sends the wrong message,” he said. “It may be good for business, but at this point, we are focused on watching expenses and trying to get our business back to the level it was before the recession started.”

The Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce has tentatively agreed to rent a 50-person chalet, but will only move ahead with the agreement if enough members agree to pay the $785 per day, per person entrance fee, said Tim Sheehy, MMAC president.

So far, the MMAC has not gotten enough commitment to go ahead with the event.

“This is an unusual marquee event for the region, and we wanted to give our members, particularly smaller and midsize companies, an opportunity to use it for their businesses, and do so in a bite that meets their budget,” Sheehy said.

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